NOT apologizing or making excuses for Alec, but he certainly was not the only one on that plane who hadn't turned off his phone yet. Other people on the plane were tweeting about the incident as it was happening. So while his tantrum was definitely uncalled for (but, sadly, totally in character with what I would expect from him), his failure to turn his phone off when the FAs made the announcement seems to be less about him thinking that rules don't apply to him and more that he happened to be the most visible of the people who were breaking the rules at that moment.

First of all, I hate when I'm on a plane and people do that. Just turn the bloody things off!

I'm guessing he was in first class. That means that when the FAs made the announcement and then went through the cabin to make sure people followed directions, they came upon him relatively early. They asked him to turn off his toy and he refused. That's when he became the most special snowflake on the plane. People further back probably didn't see the harm in leaving theirs on (not that I agree) because they knew Baldwin still had his on and they could tell it was going to take a while.

I don't like when anyone leaves their device on, but what really made Baldwin a super jackwagon was that when he was directly addressed, he still refused. He then got up and stormed into the bathroom to keep playing.

And why do we as a society allow celebrities to get away with behaviour like that by continuing to support them, albeit indirectly, by watching thier shows and purchasing thier merchandise.

Because I loves me some Tina Fey. Seriously, though, other than 30 Rock, I don't watch anything he's in. He lost me completely when he called his daughter hateful names.

I totally get that. I don't judge anyone else for it. I love her myself. But as much as I love her, she's collateral damage in my silent protest and refuse to watch it. Between Alec and Tracey Morgan, I just can't muster a sense of humor about it. My non participation doesn't seem to be hurting thier ratings at all so I'm sure noone over at tv land gives a hoot about lil' ol' me anyway.... its just the principal of it... So there...

Yep, me too.

One of the other things that saddens me about this whole thing is that I'm hearing a lot of, "Well the turn off your phone rule is stupid anyway, they proved on Mythbusters that it doesn't really affect the plane." Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. That's not the point. The point is that when you buy a plane ticket, you agree to follow the airlines rules. And it's not like what he was doing was soooo important that he couldn't wait half an hour.

I honestly don't know why anyone would be a fan of his any more. He has proven himself, time after time, to be a self-obsessed jerk. I refuse to watch anything he is in.

Some people, like myself, are fans of his because of his work and not his personality.

I think he is a very funny man.

I'm sure he is. However, I, like SamiHami (I imagine - correct me if I'm wrong), have a hard time disassociating his real-life personality from his work. There are other performers like that whom I can't watch.

Oh, I understand that. I can understand why people wouldn't be fans of his any longer because of his real life personality. There are performers that I have stopped supporting because of theirs as well.

My response to SamiHami was because her comment said she "didn't know" why anyone would still be a fan of AB. Not everyone cares about a celebrities real life.

I sat on a plane with a husband and wife who worked for air traffic control. They said that regular electronics do not affect the plane, but every time a smart phone or what ever pings for an update, that interrupts ground communications to the plane 100% of the time so if your phone is asking for txt messages or emails, that interrupts information being sent to the plane as the plane is using the same bands that we all do. I was really surprised at this. I later confirmed it with another air traffic control friend.

As to Alec Baldwin, well, he certainly is a SS to keep wanting to play the game when they asked him to turn his device off. He's really lucky he's not in jail. Stopping a flight causes serious problems with scheduling etc.

I honestly don't know why anyone would be a fan of his any more. He has proven himself, time after time, to be a self-obsessed jerk. I refuse to watch anything he is in.

Some people, like myself, are fans of his because of his work and not his personality.

I think he is a very funny man.

I'm sure he is. However, I, like SamiHami (I imagine - correct me if I'm wrong), have a hard time disassociating his real-life personality from his work. There are other performers like that whom I can't watch.

Oh, I understand that. I can understand why people wouldn't be fans of his any longer because of his real life personality. There are performers that I have stopped supporting because of theirs as well.

My response to SamiHami was because her comment said she "didn't know" why anyone would still be a fan of AB. Not everyone cares about a celebrities real life.

I agree with SiotehCat - I separate my impressions of celebrities' personal lives from their work. Alec Baldwin is one example - he is a talented actor and very funny on SNL and 30Rock. He is also a huge jerk in his personal life, but what does that mean to me, unless I know him or am seated on the same flight with him?

Woody Allen is another good example - I love many of his movies but I think it was gross that he married his girlfriend's daughter - no, he and Mia Farrow were never married but he was the father figure during much of the girl's childhood and she is like 40 years younger than he, if not more. (OK, I just checked on IMDB, it's 38 years, but still ick.) I like his movies even though I think he's a creep.